GOLF: Woods In Contention With 66 At Quicken Loans National

Tiger Woods recorded his lowest 36-hole total in two years after firing a five-under 66 to put himself in contention at the Quicken Loans National.

Friday's display, which followed an opening-round 68, placed him on eight under and three shot off the lead held by Japan's Ryo Ishikawa.

England's Greg Owen is also on eight under along with seven other players.Woods, a 14-time major winner, missed the cut at both the US Open and The Open.

See The Top 20 Marketable Sports Stars In The World

Federer has been named as the most marketable sports star in the world. Football's fancy hardworking superstar Cristiano Ronaldo only managed the 10th position while his nightmare and bunch of talent Lionel Messi managed the 13th position.


Tennis ace Roger Federer has been named the world’s most marketable sports star. Research by the London School of Marketing found the seven-times Wimbledon champion made £43million last year - 87% of that from product endorsements.

GOLF: Tiger Woods Goes On Leave Says He Will Be Back When His Game Is Tournament-Ready

Tiger Woods is going away for a little while ... or a long while. With rumors swirling that the Big Cat was going to make an even bigger announcement on Wednesday, he simply wrote -- quite matter-of-factly, as it turns out -- on his website that he is strongly considering not playing the Honda Classic and will return to action once his game is up to snuff.

"Right now, I need a lot of work on my game, and to still spend time with the people that are important to me," Woods said. "My play, and scores, are not acceptable for tournament golf."

GOLF: Tiger Woods In Surprise Struggling Start

Tiger Woods struggled to a two-over-par 73 in the opening round of the Waste Management Phoenix Open on Thursday in his first PGA Tour start of the season. The former world number one was five over after 12 holes before an eagle on the 13th helped him finish eight shots behind leader Ryan Palmer. Woods, 39, missed much of last season after undergoing back surgery in March.

"I saw a lot of balls go to the right, then I started to fix it on the back nine," said the American.
The 14-time major winner sprayed his drives, under-hit several approaches and was frustrated after mis-hitting a couple of chip shots from just off the green at the TPC in Scottsdale.

GOLF: Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson To Rebuild US Ryder Cup Strategy

Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson are part of an 11-strong 'task force' created to examine all aspects of the US Ryder Cup process in the wake of last month's defeat at Gleneagles. But the man praised by Mickelson as creating a winning formula, 2008 captain Paul Azinger, has turned down the chance to formally take part. In a statement on their website, the PGA of America said the task force would examine the selection of Ryder Cup captains and vice-captains, the qualifying system, the dates by which the team is determined and the timing of wild card selections.

'The Ryder Cup is our most prized competitive asset and the PGA of America is committed to utilising our utmost energy and resources to support one of the biggest events in all of sport,' PGA of America president Ted Bishop said.

RYDER CUP: Tiger Woods Rules Himself Out Due To Back Problems

Former world number one Tiger Woods has ruled himself out of contention for a wildcard spot on the US Ryder Cup team due to lingering back problems and has been told by doctors not to play or practice until his condition improves.

Tiger Woods of the United States tips his cap after playing the 18th hole during the second round of the 96th PGA Championship at Valhalla

Woods, who had surgery in March to treat a pinched nerve and has played just eight tournaments this year, asked US captain Tom Watson not to consider him for one of three wildcard picks for the biennial team competition against Europe next month.